In Triplicate
The passage Joanne chose for today is Numbers 6:24-26: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace" (NIV).
As I thought about the "triplicity" of the blessing, (it's all about the Lord) my eyes wandered to what precedes it in Numbers 6. The rest of the chapter is all about the procedure of becoming and of unbecoming a Nazarite, or a person who is fulfilling a vow before the Lord by separating or dedicating himself, or herself, to the Lord for a period of time. There were strict rules to follow for the person involved.
When a Nazarite had complete the vow he had made to God, he went to the Tabernacle and offered a male lamb, a ewe lamb, a ram, and other sacrifices, to the Lord. Then he was free from his vow.
Though Jesus was not a Nazarite, I mentally connected this ending of the vows made by a Nazarite with the triple blessing and came up with a picture of Christ. In a sense, the Son of God made a vow to the Father to give up the rights and privileges of the Godhead to take on human flesh. When He had completed his vow, He offered the supreme sacrifice, himself, as the Lamb without spot or blemish. And it's because of His vow, and His faithfulness in completing it, that we have forgiveness, eternal life and the joy of living under that wonderful blessing—peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He keeps us, blesses us, favours us in every way because of one Man's dedication to saving us from our own folly.
Blessed by His Name.
I love looking at this from a "Christian" perspective. It is so hard for me to look at these "Very OT" passages from that POV, because they are ingrained from my 32 years as a Jew. Thank you for sharing this perspective, AND for participating, dear Lynda!
ReplyDeleteThank you for blessing and feeding my spirit! Rita
ReplyDelete